Drawing and Painting

Beginning Observational Drawing Series

This series of three-week classes is suitable for students with varied backgrounds and experiences in drawing. Each class will introduce students to the specific tools, techniques, vocabulary, and creative possibilities of this medium.

It is often assumed that only professional artists and illustrators can draw well. However, if concerns about artistic quality are eliminated, drawing or sketching can become a powerful communication tool. For example, a quick sketch may more effectively communicate complicated ideas than a one-thousand word document. During this class, students will learn the importance of becoming a visual thinker and how to create an effective quick sketch. In this class students will explore the many creative facets of the quick sketch and learn to develop an individualized style and method.

The visual journal can be a place of exploration that is portable, economical and inter-disciplinary. Daily journal entries can include and are not limited to drawings, paintings, collages, digital renderings and photography, paper engineering, written observations, and more.

This introductory class is tailored to those who have never painted and who are ready to take the plunge, and for more advanced painters who want to keep their current skills honed.

Working in our spacious, professional painting studio, students will use oil (strongly recommended) or acrylic paint to learn basic techniques of this expansive medium. The fundamental elements of color, design, form, and content will be explored through studio work and slide lectures. / Some basic knowledge of drawing is recommended. / Open to students ages 16 and above.